Legal Manager

DNDi is a non-for-profit, virtual R&D organization whose mission is to develop safe, effective and affordable new treatments for neglected patients and to ensure equitable access to such treatments.

DNDi manages numerous contracts with a variety of partners around the world, ranging from academia, research institutes, biotech and pharmaceutical companies, CROs, consultants and donors. The drafting, negotiation and management of such contracts require a dedicated professional with the appropriate legal qualifications necessary to design appropriate agreements encompassing the various activities of the organization (R&D, fundraising, communication, administration and finance).

DNDi is looking for a Legal Manager for a short term contract of 10 months (March-December 2016) for maternity leave replacement. He/she will be integrated into the Business Development/Legal/Procurement Department team, will report directly to the Head of Legal and will work closely with Project Managers, and external expert legal advisors (if and when required).

Responsibilities will include:

Transactions

Draft, review, negotiate and finalize all contracts for the specific disease, products or departments allocated, or as otherwise instructed (including CDAs, MTAs, various kinds of Service Agreements, Clinical Trial agreements, amendments, MOU, etc.) independently and in close collaboration with the Procurement Manager and the relevant Project Manager.

Draft, review and negotiate strategic long-term collaboration and licensing contracts in close collaboration with the BD managers and under the supervision of the Head of Legal.

Contribute to the further development of contract templates, processes and management tools ensuring appropriate contractual risks management, and implement them.

Deal with complex matters involving multiple stakeholders.

Conduct legal due diligence; assess legal implications of contracts or any other binding documentation, amongst which intellectual property, confidentiality and licensing issues, that need to be brought to the attention of the Head of Legal.

Ensure consistency between contracts and conformity with DNDi’s statutory and legal requirements, objectives and internal policies, and implement the required provisions.

Ensure internal compliance with contractual processes and procedures.

Conduct a quality check of the data entered into the contract database.

Legal advice

Acquire a sound knowledge of the organization.

Advise DNDi on its contractual and legal obligations and assist in management decision processes with robust risk assessments.

Identify and analyze contractual and legal risks and provide timely, high-quality and practically sensible legal advice to relevant leadership teams on how to manage such risks and report to the Heal of Legal on actions taken. For politically sensitive risks, work with the Heal of Legal on adequate legal advice to the BD Director or the Executive Team.

Resolve routine and moderately complex legal matters in area of practice using negotiation skills and legal expertise without supervision. For difficult, complex or organization-specific legal matters (especially involving intellectual property or confidentiality) work closely with the Head of Legal in developing innovative solutions.

Liaise with relevant departments to ensure that legal risks have been identified and, if applicable or requested, advise on appropriate courses of action to be taken.

Keep abreast of changes in laws that affect DNDi; communicate these to the Head of Legal.

Be responsive to new situations and circumstances that require urgent attention.

Disseminate appropriate legal information to staff; conduct training.

Liaise with external lawyers as agreed with the Head of Legal.

Management

Be the focal legal person for specific departments or disease programs as allocated by the Head of Legal.

Coach and direct assigned support staff in their responsibilities.

Minimum requirements:

Qualified lawyer with strong academic performance from a reputable university (PhD would be an added advantage).

Fluency in English essential; knowledge of Spanish or French language preferred.

10 years’ post-qualification experience essential; ideally gained with a healthcare / pharmaceutical environment, or alternatively, with a top-tier law firm representing healthcare & technology clients. Experience within in-house legal counsel function of a non-for-profit international organization would be an added advantage.

About DNDi

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a collaborative, patients’ needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development (R&D) organization that is developing new treatments for neglected patients.

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